A Way for Tomás

by Andrés Ricaurte and Martín Agudelo Ramírez

REVIEW

               

“When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story.”

                                                         Charles Baxter, Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction     

               

                The most crucial feature of mysterious films is the immersive atmosphere and the expected dramatic final scene. We are all living creatures who are interested in mystery and discovering this mystery. If this is used carefully in short films, it turns into a great advantage. "A way for Tomas" is a different short film that tries to use this technique in the background. It tries to give clues to the audience by spreading it throughout the film. We watch the various stages of the protagonist's life with a different narrative technique. Sometimes he encounters with the child state and chats; sometimes he goes to his own memories. We appreciate the use of more than one method for richness in narration. His dreams, his youth, his love... A link has been established between the father figure's suicide and his own suicidal thoughts. In a sense, he continues his family's destiny.

 

                There are some editing issues in the very beginning parts of the movie. Major mistakes were made, especially in the continuity of the image. As the minutes in the movie progress, we see that these mistakes decrease. Normally the opposite happens.  The most important problem with the use of filters in short films is that they are overused to create an atmosphere. If you are using a structure that tries to reflect different periods with different filters or LUTS, you have to pay attention to the filter density. There seem to be some problems with filter usage and density in this movie. The blue-weighted filter used especially in the scenes with the protagonist, distorted the color palette of the film. Of course, this is a subjective opinion; others watching may like the color palette. Finally, the habit of finishing movies using Drone has recently started to develop. This movie could have been finished with a much more effective ending. Achieving childhood goals or pretending to be a family man… The possibilities are endless.

 

               We loved how the "final ending" or "death" character at the end was contrasted using white clothing. However, this character moves a lot and plays with her clothes. A cooler portrait could have been drawn for the "death" character. It is a very good production, except for minor glitches in the narration, some editing problems and minor problems in using filters. It has a story to tell, a character portrait to analyze. This makes the movie above average...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         AIFF